Rugs again...

This is the space I want to put the rug. I'm trying to disguise our couch clash with the floor with a rug. I konw I want to paint that little wall orange so I have a new idea for rugs.
I have decided to put my love rug on hold and try a different approach.

#1. I think this is a pretty good quality one, I like the look, like the little lines (hiding more dirt and crumbs:), but although cheaper than my flower favorite one, it's still twice as much as #2.
#2. We really like the retro look of this since we're trying to pull in some of that for this house. I like that it's supposed to be super soft since I plan to do a lot of laying and playing on it, but it looks a little dark and cheap, but I don't know that that makes it cheap, although from a materials standpoint, it isn't as good. But cheapest by far at half the cost of #1.

#3. Josh and I both like this one, I'm afraid of how light it is with dirty feet that are bound to be on it. We plan to paint a wall on the opposite side of the house a shade of whatever blue we end up with and this sort of goes with what we were looking for (and #1), but yikes light.
#4. This would be my winner hands down if it weren't for the price, so this is purely a wish list item that I would love to find on sale.
Q: Your favorite?

Selling Out with Mean Mickey

Have you heard? It looks like Disney has sold out for a little extra cash. I'm so tired of companies either dirtying up, trashing, prettying, hooching and sexing up their image for a little more profit.

Mickey Mouse has lost it's appeal they say, his wholesome image just doesn't have the same appeal it used to have, so they're going to tap into his origins of a prankster and make him a little meaner. Not a fan, can you tell?

I know Dora was supposed to get all grown up for this Fall, but I haven't seen it or looked for it yet. Hazel's been with me looking at these and kept asking who the girl was by the real Dora, I almost told her it was supposed to be someone else.

I don't want her thinking about how pretty and girly Dora will look when she's older. What if she's not pretty? What if she's just strong and and adventurous, what's wrong with that? Seems more fitting and a good role model. Why not try to encourage in girls the same skills the real Dora has if she has to age, I assume they'd still have a following.

Did you know they made Strawberry Shortcake "prettier" this year too? Apparently she has no more kitty she plays with, it's a cell phone. That's great.

And finally, the sunmaid. She's gone through more than just these changes, but these are the highlights, or low lights.

I'm not opposed to updating an image, like I don't like the 1923 one of the sumaid. I think updating is fine, but I don't like it when a company just tries to make things prettier, skinnier, meaner, rougher, whatever it may be that makes it just a bit less like wholesome goodness. Did you see the Mickey Mouse pic? Aggg!

Q: Do you mind these changes? Do they concern you?

Q: Do you ever try to stay away from companies that do this?
Q: Do you think it affects little kids and adults?

Clearing the Air

It's nice to clear the air on something that's been on your mind for a while. And it's even nicer when it goes well, at least in the end. Even better when you find out most of the problems were just miscommunication.

It's so healthy to get rid of emotional baggage! It's also possible that if you have some, someone else involved may have some too, which in this case helped clear up some confusion.

I think our renovation will be a purer experience than has been seeming. Not perfect since, frankly, it's still a renovation, but realizing purer intentions improves the situation.

***

On a somewhat unrelated note, Halloween was a very productive day! Josh finished sawing all the crazy little corner bits on some planks, put all of the rest in, I sanded and painted, and painted all the baseboards and trim with Hazel. She was so cute helping, I loved it! Now we just have to put the quarter rounds in that room!

...and decide on wall colors and paint them...

Battle of the Rugs

I have a problem falling in love with certain design or decorating elements and not being able to move on. A couple of weeks ago during a tile decision that's taken me plenty of long, frustrating and boring trips for the kids to tile shops, I finally found "the one." The tile that would satisfy my long list of must haves: classy, contemporary, hides crumbs and other random bits well, and comfy on the feet.

It wasn't exactly fitting my "budget" preference or Josh's style, so we've put that on hold until countertops are in to decide with the overall look. Josh sweetly, but self-servingly, said, "I know you love it. But the great thing about you is that you love a lot of things, so I know that there is another tile out there that you'll love." Which I'm sure is true, but I'm sick of going to tile stores to try to make it all work well together.

Today it's rugs. Since I'd like to pick a rug to help determine the colors I use to paint with, I'd like to pick one asap. I've been doing lots of looking here as well and have come up with two. We're going for a retro-modern look to try to tap into our 1951 modern ranch home (it looks far from it now, I know), so here is my top pick:


Here is option #2. I don't like it nearly as well, but that's probably just because I've already given my heart to #1 whereas if I'd seen this one first maybe I'd be in love with it too. But it's price makes me start to reconsider my affections--it's a complete 51% cheaper than the first, which is a lot for a 9x11 rug.
Q: What's your fav, #1 or #2?
Q: Do you have this problem of falling for and not being able to move on bit? Great in marriage, bad in shopping, esp if $$.

Foot Fun

I know a lot of people out there are creeped out by feet, so this is for you:). I had nail polish on my toes during and after the marathon so I figured the insane pain in my toes after the race was just temporary and forgot about it when it went away after a week. I thought it was strange that it hurt to put on even socks because it pulled on my big toe.

Then one night I saw a dark green mark on my nail and thought it was marker and Josh said it was probably a bruise. I ran to take off my polish because that sounded kind of cool and sure enough, it was! Unfortunately by morning the color had changed. I'm fascinated by the toe problems I've had through running, sorry.

Like my toe-stash?

Then a few nights later I stubbed my toe on something (just recently discovered it a nail sticking out of our temp spot of our entertainment center because the kids have climbed on it so much it's falling apart:). My pinky toe throbbed that night and freaked me out because it was small, but deep and I couldn't tell if it had cut through my nail or not, thankfully, a couple weeks later, I can finally tell that it did not.

Aren't you happy to know my foot news?

Teacher Rating...watch out professors!

My little sister is signing up for classes at BYU right now and checks out this site: www.ratemyprofessor.com and swears by it. I wish I'd had it around when I was in school! Anyway, she brightened my day by sending me this rating for a potential professor:

"I hated every minute of his pointless, convoluted, mind numbing lectures. I could have learned more about Europe by sticking my head in a block of Swiss cheese. Go ahead and sign up for this class if you want to waste your money, and 4 months of your life that you?ll never get back."

I'd like to put that on my wall for comic relief. I'll probably think of it when I eat swiss cheese too.

Q: Rate your favorite and worse professor here if you feel like you've missed out.

Joy School

I'm thinking of starting up Joy School. I did it when I was younger and remember LOVING it. I'm sure I would've liked just a regular homemade co-op style of preschool too, but I really loved Joy School. I did a little preschool in Houston with some friends that I really enjoyed and Hazel loved it too, I think it was the perfect thing for her then. Now as I'm thinking of starting up another mom-run preschool, I've been looking into Joy School again.

What I like about Joy School is:

-It's totally organized, ie., you get a detailed lesson plan for each day. The free sample one is actually 28 pages. It even gives you ideas for certain comments to share with the kids.

-They send you music CD's and all the craft pages are online.

-It's been tested forEVER it seems. They say over 100,000 families have used it so far. Basically, they know what works.

-I love that they focus on joy. It's such a postive method of teaching and it's not just letters and numbers, it's a lot of general ideas kids need to learn about life and fun, effective ways to learn about them.

My reservations about Joy School:

-Cost. You pay $50 for an upfront membership fee to valuesparenting.com for all their great tips...which I probably would never get my money out of since the likelihood of me reading it is just slim. Then you pay $70 per semester (there are two semesters, two years). Really, that's a lot cheaper than if I were to enroll her somewhere, but still, it's a lot more than free if I were to set it up myself. Oh, and each person is supposed to pay that, it's illegal if you don't...but tempting.

-The lesson plans are so thorough, I know I'll have to plan a lot more than I'm probably interested in. Even if they plan it, I'll just have to be on top of things a lot more.

-Finding interested moms that will also pay this fee. If I could get others on board, I would do this, but it's a hard sell if you haven't done it yourself I think.

Questions I have for you:

1. Did you do Joyschool?

2. Would you pay the fees and do it if you have a 3-5 yr old?

3. Have you done your own co-op mom-run preschool? If so, did you use any particular method or manual?